If you’re looking for a family SUV, then chances are you’ve noticed the Chevy Blazer for sale at a dealership near you. Chevy’s midsize model has a combination that many parents appreciate: a spacious, kid-friendly interior paired with a stylish exterior that looks sporty rather than frumpy or utilitarian. It’s also positioned in something of a Goldilocks zone when it comes to price since it’s neither cheap-but-barebones nor luxurious-but-outrageously expensive.
Beyond the basics, though, what does this SUV have to offer? Let’s take a balanced look at the 2024 Blazer by going through some pros and cons. If you have this model on your list but haven’t yet fully committed, then this exercise should help you decide whether it’s right for you or not quite what you’re looking for.
Pro: Five-Star Safety Rating
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is an official arm of the US Department of Transportation, and it helps drivers compare the safety of all kinds of vehicles, from compact cars to full-size trucks. It conducts crash tests, evaluates onboard safety technology, and uses an easy-to-understand five-star scale to tell you how well a particular model has performed. The 2024 Blazer earned all five stars for its overall safety rating, reflecting its crashworthy design and inclusion of driver assistance features like forward collision warning and lane departure warning as standard across all trims. This shouldn’t be a big surprise since the Blazer has gotten a five-star safety rating every model year since the nameplate returned for 2019.
Looking at the Blazer’s standard safety features, the model does seem to be working to appeal to families. A LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) system makes it easy to safely install compatible car seats for young children who are still too small for a seatbelt to provide adequate protection. A rear seat reminder makes sure that you don’t forget quiet children who are riding in the back. On the other end of the childhood timeline, kids who have grown up and are now learning to drive themselves can learn more safely with the Teen Driver feature, which encourages the driver and front-seat passenger to buckle up every drive, makes sure certain safety features can’t be turned off while your teen is driving, and produces an in-vehicle report card so you can see how your young driver did while off on their own.
When it comes to driver assistance tech, the Blazer comes standard with Chevy’s Safety Assist suite. This includes forward collision alert with automatic emergency braking, front pedestrian braking, lane-keep assist with lane departure warning, and following distance indicator, all of which help you stay aware of your surroundings and avoid accidents. For nighttime driving, IntelliBeam high beam assist automatically turns your brights on and off depending on the surrounding conditions so you can see the road ahead of you without dazing your fellow drivers.
Con: Not All Driver Assistance Features Standard
While the basic safety features come standard across the Blazer’s lineup, there are some that are considered optional. Three of these features are standard on the 3LT trim and up and can be added to the base 2LT trim at an added cost with the Driver Confidence Package. Rear park assist detects large objects directly behind you while you’re backing up, rear Cross Traffic Alert detects cars coming from the side while you’re backing up, and Lane Change Alert with side blind zone alert helps you change lanes on a busy street with confidence.
The yet-more-advanced Driver Confidence II Package doesn’t come standard on any trims of the Blazer but is an available add-on for the top-tier RS and Premier trims. This package includes adaptive cruise control, which adjusts your speed automatically to maintain a set following distance between you and the vehicle in front of you; HD surround vision, which gives you a 360º view of the area around your vehicle to help you park in tight spaces; safety alert seat, which uses vibrations in the seat to let you know where a potential threat is coming from; and rear mirror camera, which lets you switch between the traditional mirror and a rear camera that gives you a wide, unobstructed view behind you. The package also upgrades the automatic emergency braking feature to a more advanced system that uses a combination of radar and camera technology to detect vehicles more precisely.
Pro: Powerful Engine Options
When you’re looking for a family car, you may not think you need to be concerned with getting a powerful engine. But while you probably won’t be looking to get your thrills on the road with the kids in the back, having a good amount of horsepower and torque at your disposal can still come in handy. For one thing, sometimes you need to be able to accelerate quickly to stay safe in situations like passing a slow-moving truck on a two-lane road. And powerful engines provide you with the ability to tow more weight, which comes in handy if you want to get some bonding in on a family camping trip.
The 2LT and 3LT trims of the Blazer feature a turbocharged four-cylinder engine that produces 228 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque, giving you the ability to tow up to 3,250 lbs with the available trailering equipment. The RS and Premier trims have a more powerful available V6 engine that produces 308 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque, increasing the maximum towing capacity to 4,500 lbs. All Blazer trims are available with a hitch guidance system, a seven-pin harness, and trailer sway control. The RS and Premier trims can also be had with a hitch view camera and a heavy-duty cooling system to keep the engine from running too hot.
Con: Below-Average Fuel Economy
As with most things in life, getting a powerful engine comes with a tradeoff. You gain the ability to accelerate quickly and tow a heavy trailer but lose a few MPG when it comes to fuel economy. Families on a tight budget might not love that the Blazer gets up to 22 MPG in the city and 29 MPG on the highway for a 25 MPG, which, admittedly, is not great. For others, though, it might be worth a little bit of a higher bill at the gas station to drive with confidence.
Pro: Comfort and Convenience Across the Lineup
The Blazer’s cabin is designed for comfort and convenience all the way down to the 2LT trim. The standard driver’s seat is eight-way power-adjustable with power lumbar control, so you can get it right regardless of your height or body shape. An active noise cancellation system keeps the cabin quiet so you can talk with your kids on the way home from school or listen to your music while you’re running errands on your own. A dual-zone climate control system lets you and your partner each set your own ideal temperature while rear air vents ensure that the AC reaches the little ones in the back. The infotainment system features a standard 10.2” HD color touchscreen, a 4.2” color driver information center, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility to keep you informed and entertained while en route. You can use the standard heated front seats for chilly days to warm up ASAP.
Some Final Thoughts
So, do the pros outweigh the cons? The answer is sure to differ from family to family. The Blazer has plenty of features that make it appealing to parents, with interior, exterior, and mechanical touches that make it a versatile vehicle good for a variety of functions. However, it may not be the right option for those looking for a low-cost SUV since it comes standard with some luxury features that bump its price up and doesn’t have the best fuel economy ratings around. Overall, the Blazer is undoubtedly competitive with other SUVs vying for the family demographic and has a lot to offer parents of all stripes.
